Schools Finance Chief Suspended, May Lose Job

July 20, 1989|By DAVID LERMAN Staff Writer

JAMES CITY (COUNTY) — School Superintendent John E. Allen has suspended his finance director with pay and has recommended his dismissal, pending a hearing before the Williamsburg-James City County School Board.

Alan R. MacDonald, who has served as the school system's finance director since 1985, was notified of his suspension July 10. The School Board has scheduled a hearing on the matter for Tuesday night.

In a recent interview, Allen refused to acknowledge the suspension he ordered, saying only that MacDonald was "on leave" with pay for an uncertain amount of time.

MacDonald also declined to comment on the case but said there have been no allegations of financial mismanagement.

Although neither would say what prompted Allen's recommendation for dismissal, court records show MacDonald was summoned by the Circuit Court to appear at a private School Board hearing June 12.

At that hearing, Carolyn Hester, a school payroll specialist who worked under MacDonald, challenged her approved salary, saying she was promised a higher salary by the personnel office.

Hester said Wednesday that MacDonald testified at the hearing on her behalf. Describing MacDonald's testimony, Hester said, "He just told the truth." She said he did not say anything that would be considered disrespectful of the school administration.

"Alan's a good person," Hester said. "He's an excellent director. If we lose him, we'll be hurting."

Helene Ward, clerk of the Circuit Court, said she issued a summons for MacDonald upon the request of Hester's attorney.

A week after the hearing, Allen decided to give MacDonald no merit pay raise for fiscal year 1990, when he would make $49,354. He was the only administrator who did not receive a merit raise, according to a list of administrative salaries approved by the School Board on June 20.

If MacDonald is fired, he would be the third administrator to leave the school system in as many months. In May, Personnel Director O.F. Beckhoff announced his resignation after coming under fire from county supervisors. Assistant Superintendent Dennis W. Kellison resigned in June to accept a superintendent's job in Clarke County.

It is unclear how long Allen has been at odds with MacDonald. Last fall, MacDonald chaired a task force that issued a scathing critique of the pay scales for school support staff, charging they are widely perceived as inequitable and irrational.

During the end of this past year's budget process, Allen appeared to keep his budget director at arm's length. At a School Board work session in May, when Allen recommended a final set of cutbacks, he did so without MacDonald's advice.

MacDonald told the board at the time that he had not received a copy of Allen's May 16 budget recommendation, which had inadvertently proposed cutting staff by $10,000 more than was necessary to abide by the budget ceiling.

MacDonald, who worked in the county budget office before moving to the school system, has generally won praise from county officials for his financial management.

"I've found Alan to be very effective in his preparation and presentation of school board budgets," said Supervisor Thomas K. Norment Jr. "Over the years he's done a stellar job."

The School Board will consider MacDonald's case at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Government Center. The meeting could be open to the public at MacDonald's requestion, but he would not say whether he will ask for a public session.

School Board Chairman William R. Bland said the board has not yet been briefed on the case and is awaiting the hearing.